What an incredible Test match we were treated to at Edgbaston to open the 2023 Ashes series. Thrilling ebbs and flows, gutsy efforts with the bat and ball and a result that was there for the taking deep into Day 5. And we owe this thoroughly entertaining contest completely to England and their revolutionary approach to the game.

Not since they invented it several hundred years ago have England given themselves so much credit for the state of cricket. Having decided that the Test version of the game wasn’t entertaining enough, they have completely changed the way they play. Rather than select a Test-quality batting line-up to build a traditional innings, they have assembled a band of fearsome axemen to slash and burn their way around the efforts of Joe Root.

The mantra is; go hard and go often and hang the consequences. They come out swinging against shell-shocked bowling attacks, knocking opponents out of the contest through weight of quickly scored runs. The game plan is the brain child of former New Zealand keeper/batsman, now England coach, Brendon McCullum who during his playing days undertook every innings as though his car was on fire in the car park.

Called Bazball after McCullum, it has been lauded as the saviour of Test cricket. A game which people no longer have the attention span to cope with over five days.

England came out firing at Edgbaston, with Zac Crawley cover driving the first ball from Australian captain Pat Cummins for four. Compared to the first ball of the last Ashes series where Mitchell Starc bowled Rory Burns, it was clear that England’s new approach was already a winner.

Australia, obviously oblivious to Test cricket’s vulnerability, set defensive fields early, stopping many crowd-thrilling boundaries in a cynical attempt to delay the inevitable. Still, England were able to pile on 393 runs on the first day with the loss of just eight wickets, and to emphasise how in control of the Test they were, captain Ben Stokes declared the innings closed to have a crack at the Australian openers before stumps.

In the lead up to the series, Stokes had requested that the groundsmen at all Ashes venues prepare flat, batter-friendly pitches. Now, having had first use of the Edgbaston highway, he would turn to his lethal, if antiquated, seam bowling attack to knock over the World Test Champion batting line up on that very same flat deck.

The scorebooks will show that Australia were eventually rolled for 386, giving Bazball a first innings victory.

Former England skipper, and school girlishly enthusiastic commentator, Kevin Pietersen struggled to control his excitement. As far as he was concerned we were witnessing the rebirth of Test cricket, but only England had the sleeves rolled up and the surgical gloves on. Australia were complete passengers with absolutely no control over what was happening in the middle. Root was outstanding, Ben Stokes pure genius, and Stuart Broad the greatest bowler to ever roll an arm over.

Australia had completely folded under the onslaught, placing defensive fields and batting in a traditionally slow manner. Their failure to join the revolution was ruining the entertainment value of England’s performance.

Of course, England’s batsmen didn’t crack enough boundaries in the second innings, leaving Australia with a total they were able to chase down, despite some considerable rain interruptions, on the final day.

Medium pace trundler and Bazball evangelist Ollie Robinson was keen to act as spokesman for the team, telling the world what many already suspected. The real winner was Test cricket and it was England that had facilitated that most vital of victories. Robinson wrote of the post-game talk the team received from McCullum.

“He just said, ‘Lads, I’m immensely proud of the efforts that you’ve put in, we’ve made the game what it was’,” Robinson related.

“’We were so close to pulling off an unbelievable victory. We played all the cricket in the game. If it wasn’t for us, the Australians wouldn’t have even had a chance to win.’”

“We’re trying to create memories and be that team that everyone still speaks about in 20-30 years’ time,” Robinson further explained.

“We’ve entertained the world, and we’ve put the Aussies on the back foot. For him to say that after a loss is quite significant for us.”

“It’s not just the game and the result on the line, but also the faith that we’re asking the English public to have in us for playing in this new way,” he added.

“I have faith in this team that, even if we went 2-0 down, we could still win 3-2, because of the style of cricket that we’re playing.”

Veteran seam bowler James Anderson loves Bazball as much as the next Englishman, maybe not as much as Robinson, but he wasn’t too pleased with the benign pitch.

“That pitch was like kryptonite for me,” Anderson wrote after the Test.

“There was not much swing, no reverse swing, no seam movement, no bounce and no pace. I’ve tried over the years to hone my skills so I can bowl in any conditions but everything I tried made no difference.

“I felt like I was fighting an uphill battle. It’s a long series and hopefully, I can contribute at some point, but if all the pitches are like that I’m done in the Ashes series.”

He surely must realise that saving Test cricket is so much bigger than allowing him to add to his already impressive wicket tally.

Bowling and fielding is so obviously the least entertaining part of cricket. Stokes knows this and did his best to alleviate the problem. He spent an exorbitant amount time, particularly in the second innings, organising wacky and entertaining field settings. At one point Stokes had carefully drawn a cock and balls with his fielders. The very next ball he produced a portrait of King Charles, which to be fair only required an adjustment to the mid-on fieldsman. When your opponent is refusing to fold on a dead, flat deck, you have to try anything to keep the fans interested and involved.

At the end of the fifth day the wrong team lost, but England refused to be fazed by the result. Never forget — Bazball isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about keeping the fans entertained.

Crawley, who so brilliantly set the tone with his first-ball cover drive confirmed that England were resolute and extremely optimistic about the next Test at Lord’s.

“I think we’ll win [at Lord’s]. I think the pitch will suit us a bit more so I think we’ll win by, I don’t know, 150 runs?” Crawley enthused.

“We’re not about results. We’re not about winning or losing, we’re about entertainment. That’s why we took [this loss] better than other losses perhaps, because it was great for the game.

“Of course we’re there to win and it helps our brand and what we’re trying to do. If we win, we get more traction. But I don’t think we’ve lost anything this week other than a game of cricket.”

If England go on to lose the Ashes on home soil for the first time in over 20 years, it is hoped that the home fans remember just how entertaining it really was.